Two weeks ago, I dreamt up Anohana’s finale. It was completely random and unexpected. Sadly, I also completely forgot about it, and I wish I hadn’t. Partly because it would’ve been hilarious to write about here, and interesting to compare it to the finale we’ve come to today. Such a storm of tears with the emotional weight of a freight train has inevitably left me battered, like the stillness you experience when your mind is still processing a shock, and it takes a little while just to take it all in. But you know what? They pulled it off. They really did.

And so the question evolves into, “for whom is it harder to accept the consequences of letting Menma move on? Jinta, or his friends?” The turmoil drove most of the episode, with each character still reprising their respective agendas, and led to some unexpectedly incredible scenes.

Everything went simpler than expected. I realized I’ve been thinking “too big” for the plot, and it backfired on me hard this episode. With only three episodes remaining, this was much like a turning point, with scenes of tears back to back from characters.

It’s always a funny surprise to see a plot device be acknowledged by the show, considering that Jinta remarks to Menma that using wishes as motivation is starting to feel like an excuse. It doesn’t really matter though, as the reason is not so clear cut this time around. Besides, Poppo’s the real plot driver here.

I want to say long names correlate with quality, but that wouldn’t really be true. Luckily, I can say Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai will most likely pave the way (wow that’s a mouthful).